Chapter 121 - A Walk In The Park

It wasn't as easy as she had wished for them to just leave the hospital room. The main doctor had to check up on her.

The doctor put down his glowing hand and then wrote down the results of his scanning. "Everything seems to be fine. There is only a bit of clotting with might be because of the concussion. So what did you say happened again?"

Cheng Xiu sighed. "That I did Deep Dive for more than half an hour."

The doctor chuckled.

Cheng Xiu frowned. "You don't believe me?"

The doctor shook his head. "If you don't want to tell me, that is fine. My job is to heal you, which I did."

"I am telling the truth," Cheng Xiu said.

The doctor nodded. "I am sure you are. Did you know that an A Ranked Ability user can only stay in Deep Dive for 20 minutes at most? And the consequences of that would be far worse than what you have shown so far."

Cheng Xiu sighed. She smiled. "I was just joking."

The doctor laughed. "I thought so. You can go out. There is not much damage I suppose. But we would like to keep you in observation for a bit longer if you don't mind?"

"Understood."

"And no VR in the meantime. Since this happened while you were using VR, it is better to be safe, correct?"

Chng Xiu nodded at the doctor's words.

The doctor left after that.

Cheng Xiu stared into the space, her thoughts revolving on the kind demeanour of the doctor and his disbelief of her claim. She could understand where he was coming from, but she did not like it.

"Shall we go then?" San Zhe asked nervously.

Cheng Xiu nodded. She took up the walking stick and slowly made her way out of the room.

As the two people walked on the pavement of the garden, Cheng Xiu looked around the place in wonder.

"This is Hospice Apollo, right?" Cheng Xiu asked. "One of St Andre's Speciality Hospitals?"

San Zhe nodded. "Miss Bo was forced to admit you here as she had to register you and herself in."

"I am surprised she did not let me just die," Cheng Xiu mused.

San Zhe sighed. "Yeah…she likes to pretend to be above such things."

"Lucky me, that hse has such vanities," Cheng Xiu said with a smile.

She looked towards the side where many flower bushes were huddled together. She bent and smelt the rose in the bush.

Cheng Xiu felt the pain in her mind calm down and smiled.

"You seemed to be full of wonder at such sights," San Zhe said with a laugh. "Never been to a garden before?"

Cheng Xiu grinned. "The last time I went to a garden was five years back."

San Zhe frowned. "Five years back? What happened then? Sorry. I was just being curious, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to."

Cheng Xiu laughed. "So polite. Why are you acting like we are strangers?"

San Zhe ducked his head. "Aren't we though? We have only known each other for a few days."

Cheng Xiu's smile dimmed. "Right. I guess…um I thought going through the life-and-death arena against the experts made us friends."

San Zhe gave her a light smile. "You went through those things. I was just a spectator who kept getting manhandled by those experts. But I guess being friends is a given at this point huh?"

Cheng Xiu frowned. "Did they hurt you?"

San Zhe shook his head. "No…I was just being a bit too cowardly at the sight of so many experts of the game together."

"There is no need to be embarrassed about that," Cheng Xiu said with a smile, "it is okay to be a bit of a coward. Just don't let it hold you back from doing what you want to do in life, and you will be fine."

San Zhe gave her a slight nod. "My mom keeps telling me the same thing."

"You should listen to her," Cheng Xiu said with a grin. "As for what happened 5 years back…I found out that I was a Qiless."

San Zhe's eyes widened. "Oh. You found out about it so early."

Cheng Xiu looked towards him curiously. "When did you find it out then?"

"When I was 15. My parents thought it was because I was a late bloomer until then."

Cheng Xiu nodded.

"Can I ask you something?" San Zhe asked.

Cheng Xiu looked towards him, waiting.

"How did they react?"

Cheng Xiu frowned. "My parents?"

San Zhe nodded.

Cheng Xiu looked up at the sky, watching the white clouds roll away. Her eyes dilated as she remembered those years.

"My...mother was not happy."

San Zhe looked up in surprise.

Cheng Xiu sighed and walked towards the park bench.

The two people sat down.

Cheng Xiu watched the rippling water of the lake in thought. "My mother was a powerful person you know? She was an A-Rank scientist. She fell in love with my father who was barely even at E Rank. At least that is what I have heard. My mother's family never approved so they eloped. A year later I was born. Everything seemed perfect until my Qiless status came out...mother blamed dad for it. Dad endured. I remember them fighting a lot at those times..."

San Zhe looked at the woman in front of him with pity in his eyes.

"My mother was just concerned that her choices were punishing her child," Cheng Xiu said in a whisper. "So I started to just focus on my studies. And my marks changed dramatically. Mom realised that I would still have a future even though I am a Qiless at that point, and she started to help me improve. People keep saying that I am a genius, that I am incredible...it took a long time to reach that point though."

"Oh."

Cheng Xiu crinkled her brows and looked towards San Zhe.

She started to laugh at the expression on his face.

"You don't need to feel so sorry for me, brother San," Cheng Xiu said. "My father never allowed me to be overworked. He would slip me a lot of fantasy and romance books to read when mom was not looking, and he even roped Gu Shu into it. I can tell you, you won't find anyone on campus who had tried out every damn otome game like me. Even Gu Shu had to step aside at my Powerleveling in the game."

San Zhe shook his head. "So you have a lot of online boyfriends huh?"

Cheng Xiu snorted. "Husbands more like. And all of them had bad endings. I am never lucky in love..."

San Zhe saw her smile dim somewhat. "But you at least have your dad to support you!"

Cheng Xiu hmmed. "Perhaps. But I think his love is...overcompensating. He keeps apologising to me."

San Zhe frowned. "What? Why?"

"My dad keeps apologising that it was his fault that I became a Qiless. After mom died, that guilt increased even more."

San Zhe sighed. "That is just-"

Cheng Xiu caught a ball that was aimed at her face.

San Zhe stood up in shock.